Study of Whole Blood In Frontline Trauma-2 (SWIFT-2)

The objective of the Study of Whole Blood In Frontline Trauma-2 (SWIFT) aims to compare pre-hospital use of whole blood without immune cells (WB) versus red blood cells (RBCs) plus plasma in trauma patients. SWIFT-2 is the Canadian arm of the SWIFT trial, which is a phase III multi-centre international collaboration with the United Kingdom. Approximately, 800 Canadian trauma patients will be randomly given WB or RBCs plus plasma in a 1:1 ratio. WB contains important proteins and platelets, which form a strong blood clot to stop bleeding. Recently, Health Canada approved WB for military and clinical research. The goal of this study aims to demonstrate that WB administered by advanced care paramedics to trauma patients increases patient survival, reduces the number of blood products needed once the patient arrives at the hospital, improves patient outcomes, improves blood clotting, and reduces harmful inflammation. We believe that this study will highlight the importance of blood transfusion and significantly increase its accessibility from the hospital to the frontline.

BECKETT, Andrew

University of Toronto

Postdoctoral Fellowship Program

Ontario

$20,500